ENGLISH: ﻿Café Gitane ﻿på ﻿Jane Hotel﻿ (113 Jane Street) offers the same menu as the Nolita place, but on a bigger surface and with a view of the Hudson River. Even the clientele is similar; a relaxed mix of models, hipsters and tourists. I was there yesterday and couldn’t help but order the Organe Blossom Waffles (as always…). Super nice! Another plus is the great parties that are thrown in the bar. I’ve never lived at the hotel itself, but my friends who have dearly recommend it.

Oh, the contrast! We were told that our hotell, The Houstonian, had a car we could call for. So in a black Lexus (I think…) we came up the drive way to the hotel, we sat in the back, whispering about how you tip in these situations. I would call myself kind of well-travelled, but my experiences of staying with old ladies on the Romanian countryside widely outnumbers my experience with any kind of luxury hotel. So we were a bit overwhelmed with the grandness of it all, and the somehow alluring bad taste (the interior was so obviously fake). But you get used to anything. Today we’ve been to the fitness center and the pool, surrounded by palm trees and bambu. Now we’re getting ready for dinner. “Silk is good”.

ENGLISH: The sun has decided to grace us with its presence again! Started the day with a breakfast date, my longtime friend Rebecca and her bf is in town. We went around the corner from their hotel, to Le Pain Quotidien at 2nd Avenue, a chain thatmakes delicious (though expensive) bread and just radiates a little more love than Starbucks. Swedish Elin Nordegren and her divorce (finally!) made it to the front page of free newspaper AM. It’s actually not bad to pick up if you want some advice on what’s happening from day to day – even though it’s hardly the Village Voice.

ENGLISH: They’re staying at Pod Hotel at 51 street. Perfect if you want to hang out in Midtown and Central Park, a bit off if you’re more the Soho-Greenwich-LES-type. But really fresh and a good deal if you’re here on a low budget (and don’t mind sharing showers). The rooftop has an amazing view over my future home (I wish). What do you have to do to get a rooftop-garden around here?? If that’s not in your taste, the newspaper wrote that poet Allen Ginsberg’s old apt at East 12th Street was out for rent. I wouldn’t mind having his spirit watching over me. After breakfast I followed Rebecca and Gustaf to Bloomingdales, a first for me actually. I’ve heard so many people complain about how bad it’s become but to me it was like department stores are most. If you’re a foreign visitor, don’t forget to register – it’ll give you a ten percent discount at some of the shops (which basically means that you don’t have worry about the taxes). I kind of slid into their vacation-shopping-mode, ooops! But it was on sale!

ENGLISH: Then I took off to 88 Orchard på Lower East Side (LES), at Orchard and Broome, and coffee with my new friend Emma Ångström. I really like that place, and it’s perfect for work (it was filled with Mac-books). Emma is, among other things, an author who’s first novel “Allt är förvridet” will come out in pocket this fall.